Thermostatically-controlled valve mechanism



sept. 20,1927. V1,643,255

H. W. OYDOWD THERMOSTATICALLY COTROLLEUVALVE MECHANISH Filed Uct. l?, 1925 ,i 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I'" "il M6" "'hl'fh HMH?? 1 643 255 Sept. 20,1927. H. w. O,DOWD

'I HERMOSTATIQALLY CONTROLLED VALVE l MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed oct. 17, 1925 Patented sept. 20,1927.,v A 41,643,255v UNITED STATES PATENTA OFFICE.

' HENRY w. oDowD, or JERsnYcI'Tm'NEW JERSEY, AssreNon 'ro STANDARD GAS EQUIrNDNr conronArroN, A corwoRA'rroN or MARYLAND.

THERMOSTATICALLY-CONTROLLED VALVE MECHA'NIBM. Application led yUctober 17, 1925. Serial No. 63,080.

This invention'relates to thermostatically leadin from any suitable source of supply, controlled valve mechanisms for gas burners and uel is discharged from the casin or the like, and more particularly to`valve through an outlet pipe tapped into the mechanisms of the sna action variety, that lower wall and leadlng to a suitable burner 5 is to say, those embo yin a valve proper (not shown). 60

which is snapped under t e control of the At the receiving end of the outlet pipe 5 thermostat to a fully open or a fully closed there is lfixed a valve'ring 6 formed with a position. The general object of the invention circular knife-edge valve-seat 7 and with `a 1s to provide a thermostatically controlled series of holes or openings 8 for the'pa-ssage l0 valve mechanism of the type referred to, of the fuel from the casing into the pi 05.

which is of simple, compact and rugged con- Cooperating with the valve ring 6 is a va ve struction, positive and reliable in operation proper 9 of the ta pet type, provided on yet hi hly sensitive to temperature changes, its underside with a eather washer ada t. and w ich comprises few parts, inexpensive ed to be pressed down upon the knife-erige l5 to manufacture, easy to assemble or disasseat 7. The valve 9 is provided with a. ver- 70 semble, and readil accessible for adjustment ticalstem llislidable vertically in a central or regulation. ith this general object in guldmgopemng 12 formed in the ring 6, the view, the invention consists of the novel constem being preferably screwed to the valve struction, combination and arrangement of and serving to hold the leather washer in parts hereinafter described in detail and set place thereo This specific type of valve forth in the appended claims. 1s preferred, but any other suitable type These snap-action valve mechanisms,wh11e nnght be employed to control the passage of capable of a more general application, are the fuel from the casing tothe burner. commonly employed in connection with wa- The present lnvention contem lates an im ter heating systems, and hence the invention proved form of thermostatically controlled 00 is herein disclosed in an embodiment parmechanlsm for throwing the valve to a fully ticularlyI adapted for such use. open or a fullyv closed position, as the case Referring to the drawings: may be. Whlle the thermostat per se ma Fig. 1 is aA vertical section taken through be of any approved form or construction, 1t the im roved valve mechanism and showing 1S hereln shown as comprising (for the posi- Il the va ve in its fully open position under tive,or expanding element) an outer cop er one condition of adjustment; tube 13 closed at 1ts upper end and threaded Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view taken on at its lower end into a screw plug 15 on the the line 2-2 of Filg top wall of the valve casing, and comprisin Fig. 3 vis a simi 3 3 of Fig. 1; an internal nlckelsteel rod 14 connected to Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on the the upper end of the copper tube and proline 4.-4 of Fig. 1,v but showing vthe valve jectlngdownwardly through the screw plug in vits closed position; into the casin It hardly needs'to-be stated 4o Fig. 5 is a similar section on the line 5--5 that, as the tu 13 expands and contracts, it o5 of Fig. 1; l will raise and lower the rod 14 within the Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 2, illustratcaslng. I ingamodication; Such raising andI lowerlng movement of F1g;7 is a perspective View 0f the fulcrum the tlleImOStat rod 14 is transmitted t0 the blockl detached; and l valve 9 through the medium of two levers 10o Fig. 8 is a sectional plan view taken on 16 and 17 of the first and third orders, rethe line 8-8 of Fig. 1. spect1vely. The lever 16 is pivoted by a As shown in the several views, the various pin 18 kto a= pair of supporting lugs 19 departs of the improved valve mechanism are pending from the top wall of the casing,

enclosed within a hollow box or lcasin 1, having its shorter arm arran 'ed in direct 105 rovided with a removable front 2 whic is contact with the lower end o the thermov lield in placeI in a fluid-tight lmanner by stat rod'14 and its longer arm provided with screws or similar fastening devices v3. Fuel va downward extension 2O terminating in a is admitted into the casing 1 throu h an 'horizon'tal'plane approximatin that'of the j inlet pipe 4 tapped into the rear wa and lever 17. This lever l17 is for ed orbifur- 11G 1 ar view taken on the line (for the negative or non-expanding element oo lizicated at its fulcrum end, presenting two prongs 21 sharpened to a knife edge and' engaged in V-sliaped cuts or notches 22 formed ina fulcrum block 23. At or near its free end, the lever 17 has pivotally suspended from it the valve 9, which latter, for the purpose, is providedjwith a pair of upstanding ears 24 `straddling the lever and mounted vto turn loosely upon a pivot pin 25 fast to the lever. The upward orV valve-o ening movement of the lever 17 is limite by a stop collar 26 secured to the upper end of a rod 27 rising from the lower wall of the casing and passing through an elongated slot 28 formed in the end of the lever. The

two levers 16 and 17 are connected by a strong tension spring 30, one end of which is attached to the lever 17 ata point 31 located between `the prongs 21 and adjacent the ulcrum point 22, and the other end of which is anchored to the lever 16 at a point 32 located at the lower extremity of the downward extension 20.

It is pointed out that the spring attaching points 31 and 32 are so located with reference tothe fulcrum point 22 ot the valve lever 17 that the line of pull of the spring 30 will be shifted by the thermostat lever 16 to one side or the other (above or below) the ulcrum point 22 and hence cause the spring to throw the valve 9 to itstully open or.

fully closed position. In other words, when j the thermostat contracts, the rod 1d will he lowered within the valve casing and actuate the lever 16 so as to raise the anchorage point 32 above a horizontal line passing through `the tulcruin point 22, thus causing the spring 30 to pass dead center and pull upwardly on the lever 17 to snap the valve 9 to itsl fully open position, as determined by the stop collar 26 (see llig. l).

@n the other hand, when the thermostat expands, the rod 1li will be raised within the casing and' allow the lever to lower the anchorage point 32 below a horiaontal line passing through the 'tulcruni point 22, thus causing the spring 36 topass dead center in the op osite direction and pull downwardly on t e lever 17 to snap the valve 9 to its fully closed Vposition (see el). ln this connection it may be noted that the lulcrum block 23 is torined with a groove or recess'29 which, in conjunction with the space aidorded between the vtwo prongs 21, will provide ainple clearance tor the s ring and allow it to be shifted upward y 'and downwardly to opposite sides ot the .tulcrurn point 22 in the manner above described.

its will be noted, the spring 3d., due to its odi-center attachment to the lever 16, tends to hold the shorter arni ol said lever in constant engagement with 'the thermostat rod 14, which therefore exercises complete control over the actuating lever 1.6. lt will also be noted that the spring, by pulling'end-v wise upon the lever 17, acts to' maintain its knife-edge prongs 21 in constant engagement with the V-shaped cuts or notches 22 formed in the fulcrum block 23, thus greatly simplifying the construction. It willibe un-l derstood, of course, that while the` movement'of the thermostat rod14 is slight in itself, the movement of the anchorage point 32 of the spring will be much greater, owing to the multiplying eil'ect of the lever 16. In the embodiment illustrated, the ratio is about 2() to 1, although obviously it could be greater or less.

The invention also contemplates the adjustment of the valve controlling mechanism to effect the opening or closing oi the valve at whatever temperatures may be desired. This is accomplished by adjusting the fulcrum block 23 and the stop collar 26 upwardly and downwardly within the Casin In the present instance, the fulcrum bloc 23 is formedV in its opposite `sides with vertical grooves or guideways 35 slidably itted to a pair of posts- 36 extended upwardly from the lower wall of the casin 1. Journalled in the under side of' the block 23 is an adjusting screw 37 extended downwardly through the lower wall of the casin and threaded thereto. According to this arrangement, when the block 23 is lowered within the casin the 'tulorum point 22 of the lever 17 will e lowered to the sarne entent and hence require a greater movement ot the anchorage point 32 of the spring 30 before the latter is shifted past dead centerl in etl'ecting the closing of the valve 9. AS a result, the closing ot thevalve will require a greater expansion on the part ot the thermostat, which would be'the condition required when a higher temperature ol the medium to be heated (water, in the oase ot water heaters) is desired. For lower teinperatures (or cooler water, in the caseoit water heaters), the reverse is true, requiring the' raising ot the fulcruin bloch23 to reduce the extent of expansion ot the thermostat. 'lhe adjustment of the stop collar 26 is provided tor by extending the rod 27 downwardly through the lower wall oit the casing and threading it thereto in a manner similar to the adjusting screw 37. llt desired, loch holte 33 tor the screw 37, and

39 tor the rod 27, may beelnployed to hold them in their properly adjusted oosition.

ln the inodilication illustrate in Fig.. 6, the valve 9 is mounted in the saine as betere upon a lever 17e having a single huile-- edge prong 21 engaged ina lil-shaped' out. Y

or notch 22 itorined in theiulcrum bloclr 23, This rnodihed `torna of valve carrying lever '17Ll is connected to the thermostatically operated lever 16 by 'nieansof twosprings 35,

instead of one as betere, these springs being 'i i arranged on'opposite sides of the fulcrum block 2da and its guiding posts so as to clear these parts in being shifted to one side or the other of the fulcrum point 22". Except in these particulars, the parts are constructed and operated in precisely the same way as above described.v Y

As above intimated, the improved valve mechanism, while capable of more general application, is particularly suited foruse in connection with water heating systems. In my co-pending application Serial No. 58,213, it is shown as located outside the hotwater storage tank so as to be readily accessible for adjustment, repair,` or other purposes, the valve casingl being attached by means of the screw plug l5, before alluded to, to a water circulating pipe 40 connected at its upper end directly to the storage tank and at its lower end communicating with another water circulating ipe 41 leading from'the lower portion of t e tank to the usualheating coil. The thermostat is located .in the` water circulating pipe 40 and hence is subject to the changes of temperature which take place when the water is drawn into or out of the storage tank in service. If fuller information is desired, reference ma be hadV to said co-pending application. O course, this particular ada tation forms no part of the present invention, `which contemplates the use of the improved mechanism in any suitable environment.

It will now be seen that the foregoing construction is well adapted to carry out the objects before enumerated, besides possessing other advantages unnecessary to mention. In its broader aspects the invention is not, of course, confined to the embodiment or embodiments above described, nor to any particular embodiment by which may be carried into etl'ect. as many changes and modifications will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the-art without departing from the spirit of the invention and without sacrificing its chief advantages. It

should be understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited to any specific form or embodiment, except in so far as such limitations are specified in the claims.

Having thus described my invention, its construction and mode of operation, what I claim and desire to secure .by Letters Patent of the United States is as-follows 1. In a thermostatically controlled valve mechanism, the combination of a thermostat,

a lever actuated directly by said thermostat, a valve, a second lever carrymg'sald valve, and a spring directlyconnecting the two levers and arranged so that its line of force wi l1 be shifted by the independent movement ofthe thermostatically actuated lever to one side or the other of the-fulcrum point 'of the valve carrying leverin opening or closl ing the valve.

2. In a thermostatically controlled valvethe invention' mechanism, the combination of a thermostat,

a 'multiplying lever of thefirst order havin its shorter arm arranged in engagement witg the thermostat, order fulcrumed adjacent the free end of the first-mentioned lever, a valve pivoted-to the second lever near its free end, and a spring connected to the thermostatically actuated lever at its free end ing lever at a point near its fulcrum.

3. In a thermostatically controlled valve mechanism, the combination of a thermostatically actuated lever, lever, and a spring connecting said levers and arranged so that its line of force will be shifted by the thermostatically actuated lever to one side or the other of the fulcrum point of the valve actuating lever in opening or closing the valve,

together with ad- ]usting means for altering the fulcrum point .of the valve actuating-lever to increase or and to the valve carrya second lever of the third .I

a valve actuating diminish the extent of movement required by the thermostatically actuated lever inshifting the spring.

4. In a thermostatically controlled-valve i carryinv said valve,

mechanism, the combination of a thermostatically actuated lever, leven-and a spring connecting said levers and arranged so that its line efforce will be shifted by the thermostatically actuated lever toone side or the other of the fulcrum point of the valve actuating lever in opening or closing the valve, to ether vwith adjusting means for altering t the valve' actuating lever-to 'increase or diminish the extent of movement required by the thermostatically lactuated lever in shifting the spring, and adjusting means for varying the opening movement of the valve actuating' lever.

6. In mechani the combination of a thermostaticall actuated lever mounted to turn upon-a.I xed pivot, a fulcrum block, a. valve a valve actuating.

sxnthermostatically controlled valve',

lll)

e fulcrum point of actuatinglever having a knife-edge engagement with said block, and a spring connecting said levers and holdin thevalveactuating lever to its seat in t e fulcrum block, the two leversbeing soarranged that the movement of the thermostatically actuated lever -will shift the line of pull of the sprl to one side or'the other of the fulcrum point j will shift the line of pull of the spring toone side or the other of the fulcrum point of the valve actuating lever in opening or closing the valve, together with means for adjusting the fulcrum block in opposite directions to alter the location of the fulcrum point of the valve actuating lever.

8. In a Ithermostatically 4controlled valve mechanism, the combination of a thermostat, a multiplying lever of the first order having .its shorter armarranged in engagement With the thermostat, a fulcrum block arranged adjacent the free end of said lever, a second -lever of the third order having a knife-edge engagement with saidfulcrum block, a valve pivoted to the second lever near its free end, and a strong tension spring connected to the thermostatically actuated lever at its free end and to the valve actuating lever at a point adjacent the fulcrum block, the said spring serving to hold the first-mentioned lever in constant engagement with the thermostat and the second lever to its seat in the fulcrum block, and the two said levers being so varranged that the movement of the thermostatically actuated lever will shift the line of pull of the spring to one side or.

the other ofthe fulcrum point of the valve actuating lever in opening or closing the valve.

9. In a thermostatically controlled valve mechanism, the combination of a valve casing having a fuel inlet and a fuel outlet, a

Y thermostat connected to the casing and having its actuating element projecting there-- finto, a multiplying lever mounted Within the casing and arranged in engagement with the thermostat actuating element, a

t valve-seat ,located Within the casing at lthe fuelout'let, a valve proper arranged to cooperate with said seat a second lever also mounted Within the casing and carrying the valve,`and a spring directly connecting the two levers and arranged so that its line of force will bev shifted by the independent movement of the thermostatically actuated -lever to one side or the other of the fulcrum point of the valve carrying lever in opening or closing the valve. j

10. In a thermostatically controlled valve mechanism, the combination of a valve casing having a fuel inletand a fuel outlet, a thermostat connected to the casing and having its actuating element projecting thereinto, a multiplying leverE of the first order `mounted Within the casing and having its shorter arm arranged in engagement with the thermostat actuating element, a fulcrum block Within the casing, a second lever of the third order having a knife-edge engagement with said block, a valve pivoted to the second lever near its free end, a valve seat formed Within the casing at the fuel outlet,

and a strong tension spring connected to the thermostat lever at its free end and to thc valve levei` at a point near the fulcrum block, said spring serving to hold the thermostat lever in constant engagement with the thermostat actuating element and the valve lever to its seat in the fulcrum block, and the two said levers being so arranged that the movement of the thermostat lever' will shift the line of pull of the springto one side or the other of the fulcrum point of the valve lever in opening 'or closing the valve.

11. Ina thermostatically controlled valve ing having a fuel inlet and a fuel outlet, a thermostat connected to the casing and having its actuatin element projecting thereinto, a multiplyingl lever of the first order mounted Within the casing and having its shorter arm arranged in engagement with the thermostat actuating element,- a fulcrum block Within the casing, a second lever of the third order having a knife-edge engagement with saidblock, a valve pivoted to the second lever near its free end, a valve-seat formed Within the casing at the fuel outlet,

mechanism, the combination-of a valve casand a strong tension spring connected to the thermostat lever at its free end and to the valve lever at a point near the fulcrumv block, said spring serving to hold the thermo` stat lever in constant engagement with the thermostat actuating element and the .valve 4lever to its seat in the fulcrum block, and the two said levers being so arranged that the movementof the thermostat lever will shift the line of pull of the spring to one ,side or the other of the fulcrum point of the valve lever in opening or closing'- thevalve, together with means operable from outside the casing for adjusting the fulcru'mblock in opposite directions to alter the locatioi` of the fulcrum point of the valvelever.

12.. Ina thermostatically controlled valve mechanisrm the combination of a valve casing having a fuel inlet and a fuel outlet, a thermostat connected to the casing and having itsl actuatingelement proecting thereinto, a' multiplying lever of t e first order mounted Within the casing 'and having its shorter arm arranged in engagement with the thermostat actuating element, a fulcrum block Within the casing, a second lever ofthethird order having a knife-edge engagement With` said block, a valve pivoted to the sec-` ond lever near its free end, va valve-seat lever in constant engagement with the ther-v mostat actuating element and the valve lever to its seat in the fulcrum block, and the two said levers being so arranged` that the movement of the thermostat lever will shift the line of pull of the spring to one side or the other of the fulcrum point of thel valve lever in opening or closing the valve, together with a stop adjustable from outside the casing for limiting the opening movement of the valve lever.

13. In a thermostatically controlled valve mechanism, the combination of a valve casing having a fuel inlet and a fuel outlet, a thermostat connected to the casing and having its actuating element projecting thereinto, a multiplyin lever of the first order mounted within t e casing and having its shorter arm arranged in engagement with the thermostat actuating element, a fulcrum block within the casing, a second lever of the -I third order having( ment with said bloc a valve pivoted to the second lever near its free end, a valve-seat formed .within the casing at the fuel outlet, and a strong tension spring connected to the thermostat lever at its free end and to the valve lever at a point near the fulcrum'block,

said spring serving to hold the thermostat lever in constant engagement with the thermostat actuating element and the valve lever to its seat in the fulcrum block, and the two said levers being so arranged that the movement ofthe thermostat lever will shift the line of pull of the spring lto one side or the other of the fulcrum point of the valve lever in. opening or closing the valve together with'means operable from outside the casing for adjusting the fulcrum block in opposite A directions to alter'the location of the fulc'rum point of the `valve lever, and a stop adjustable from outside the casing for. limiting the opening movement of the valve lever.

n testimony whereof, I have aixe'd my signature hereto.

HENRY W. ODOWD.

a knife-edge engage- 

